Desolator Defoliant
"It killed all the weeds in our field, this is true. And then it killed the field, the worms in the ground, and polluted the groundwater. Nothing grows there now, not even weeds. Insects die when they fly over it. If me or my neighbours ever find that miserable scientist, we will bury him. :- Grain Farmer Nikita Khrushchev The sorry state of Soviet agriculture can be almost completely blamed on agronomist Trofim Lysenko. His unusual ideas about plants, completely at odds against modern science and centuries old observation, has made the life of more than one Soviet peasant miserable. From sowing soaked seeds in snow (which did not produce the increased yields he promised) to plucking the leaves off cotton plants (claiming that the descendants of these plants would inherit their leafless state), Lysenko has proven himself completely incompetent. Unfortunately, he has the Soviet government behind him. When he started, his promises of grain being grown almost on demand appealed to Stalin, who made disagreeing with him a crime, and gave him enough resources to do anything. Lysenko's background made him more favourable in the eyes of Stalin than the scientists who disagreed with him (who found themselves stripped of their positions and sent to the gulag), and upon becoming director of Soviet biology, he immediately proceeded to do immense damage the agricultural sector of the Soviet Union, reducing one of the world's largest breadbaskets into an agricultural wreck. Even when an entire planted forest died (trees don't share equally between the masses), Stalin's favour was not shaken. After Stalin's reign, Cherdenko was too busy with military matters to care about plants, so Lysenko was allowed to continue as normal. Among Lysenko's more well-known (and hated) inventions is his Kalach Compound, a thick green substance (derived from the byproduct of Soviet super reactors). He claimed that it would be able to fertilise entire fields, kill fungus and weeds, inoculate against pests, cause plants to grow quicker, and even make the food taste better. The compound was eagerly sprayed on a few test fields in the Ukraine. Minutes later, investigators couldn't enter the green, desolate fields, as their shoes melted and they quickly became very ill. Lysenko ignored this setback and went to other projects, but the Red Army quickly took the compound for its own uses. History of Use The Red Army quickly conducted tests of its own, which showed that the compound was so lethal and corrosive that it could strip flesh off bone, and would dissolve through the bone mere seconds later. In addition, the compound was shown to be extremely toxic and almost certainly lethal for a person should they inhale it or come into physical contact with it. Lysenko's Kalach Compound was found to contain over a dozen different corrosive and poisonous compounds, all of which were lethal to organic life. The results were immediately classified and hidden from the Soviet populace (to preserve Lysenko's reputation, of course) and the Army saw potential in its use as a weapon. The Kalach Compound was (easily) weaponised and dubbed the Desolator Defoliant. The Red Army mostly used it in bombs dropped by Badger Bombers to deny land to Allied forces. It is also used to clear buildings of fortified troops, though using it on civilians is against several Soviet and international laws. The Soviets have been able to develop biohazard gear that doesn't melt into uselessness upon coming into contact with the Desolator Defoliant, and specialised infantry units have been equipped with Desolator Defoliant. These Chemical Troopers have been employed in battle to horrific effect. Also, tanks of it are built under the ground of Soviet bases, and linked to hoses used to fight off attackers, which can be used by men or as a Desolator Tower. Recently, the Soviets have developed a new warhead loaded with Desolator Defoliant, for use with V4 rockets with Desolator Defoliant. Naturally, the Allied Nations protested vehemently upon learning of this new development. Lysenko made a formal suggestion that inmates from insane asylums be put in armoured life support suits armed with hoses full of Desolator Defoliant (for use in clearing underbrush ahead of tanks.) His proposal was denied on the grounds of being absolutely crazy, with the REJECTED stamp covering every square centimetre of the proposal (including the blank sides). Category:Technology